


Mommy And Daddy Ruined The Easter Egg Hunt

by orphan_account



Category: The Hollow (Cartoon)
Genre: Bisexual Kai (The Hollow), IRL Adam (The Hollow) - Freeform, IRL Kai (The Hollow) - Freeform, IRL Mira (The Hollow) - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Transgender, Transgender Kai (The Hollow), but there is pining, may end up changing to gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26030758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Dad! Something’s wrong with Kai!”The world started spinning.They weren’t driving anymore.“What’s going on?”The screams weren’t at each other.Not anymore.Flip.Flip.Flip.Flip.Flip.“Kai, hey, buddy, can you hear me?”He could hear screaming.----This is likeThe real life gamers
Relationships: Adam & Kai & Mira (The Hollow), Adam/Kai (The Hollow), Davis & Kai (The Hollow), Eventually - Relationship, Kai & Mira (The Hollow)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 53





	Mommy And Daddy Ruined The Easter Egg Hunt

PTSD.

It wasn’t really a fun thing.

Kai knew this better than most kids his age.

He didn’t really think too much about PTSD before he was diagnosed. After all, there was no reason to. He guessed he thought about it like everyone else, through all the inaccurate stereotypes portrayed by the media. Hardened veterans with cool scars getting war flashbacks. Flashbacks where they’d be back in war and pull out a gun on anyone nearby, including their loved ones.

Kai hated how he used to think of PTSD as making someone dangerous. He knew what it was like now. He knew what episodes were really like. He didn’t know they were episodes before he was diagnosed.

Kai was watching TV.

The family on screen were having about to have breakfast.

The mother wanted pancakes.

The father wanted waffles.

He was seven.

Screaming.

Speeding.

Loud.

Scary.

It was supposed to be fun.

Easter was supposed to be fun.

Davis had promised him, _“This year was going to be different.”_

He was wrong.

Why was it happening again?

It was happening again.

Wasn’t it?

No, there was no music last time.

Music?

Outro music.

He was watching a show.

There was a voice. It wasn’t yelling.

“Are you alright, Master Kai?”

Davis.

_Safe._

Kai looked up, spotting the man in question. He paused.

Was he really safe?

He was in the lounge,

he was curled up into a ball,

his butler was there, 

the TV was on.

He wasn’t at the Easter Egg Hunt.

Slowly, he uncurled himself, “It happened again.”

“I see…” Davis sighed, “It may be time to schedule you a doctor’s appointment.”

Three specialists later and he had a diagnosis.

Of course, his parents didn’t believe said diagnosis. Their child was thirteen, there was no possible way he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder! Not to mention, the Easter Egg Hunt happened _six years ago_. Psychologists were ridiculous liars who just wanted your money and would manipulate your children into believing they had conditions there was no way for them to have!

It was like that with the gender psychologist too.

Kai was diagnosed with gender dysphoria after the sixteenth trip to the hospital with broken ribs from the ace bandages. They couldn’t believe such lies.

The psychologist told them they should accept their ‘son’, and once the suicide rates left their mouth they knew for sure that the psychologist was evil and just wanted the money they would spend on hormones for their ‘son’.

Of course, another eighteen trips to the hospital and a visit from a social worker later, and Kai got a chest binder and was given permission to be called a ‘boy’, provided he kept his birth name.

At first, Kai tried to pretend it didn’t sting slightly when people called him Kai. Kai was just so _feminine_ to him.

Then Davis introduced him to a book, in which the main character was named Kai too. He was a boy.

It didn’t hurt so much anymore.

Just like his ribs didn’t hurt so much anymore, now that he had an actual binder.

Not that they didn’t still hurt sometimes.

Binders weren’t so fun when you added PTSD into the mix. It’s advised that you don’t wear one for more than eight hours and that you don’t work out in one:

PTSD is definitely a workout.

One trip to hyperventilation town, and you come back with four bruised ribs and the inability to bind for weeks.

But that was fine.

He was used to injured ribs.

Just like he was used to PTSD. He knew his triggers and new how to stay away from them. He knew how to fight off episodes until he can get alone.

**_ Mommy and Daddy are ruining the Easter Egg Hunt. _ **

If only PTSD was as simple as flashbacks.

\---

It was a bad day.

Kai couldn’t stop glancing over his shoulder. It was still clear. His father was half way across the world. So was his mother.

But he was still struggling to breathe.

If he had been paying attention, his father would never have scared him and his mother wouldn’t have started yelling and Daddy would have driven normally once they got back into the kart and they wouldn’t have-

“You good dude?”

Kai flailed, whipping around. He caught himself on the table, almost having flopped right out of his seat. His eyes locked with his teammate, “H- huh?”

**Behind you.**

Adam squinted at him, “You waiting for someone or something?”

“Oh uh. No. It’s fine,” Kai sent him a shaky smile.

**Behind you.**

He couldn’t have been less convinced, “That’s just the sixteenth time you’ve looked over your shoulder since we sat down.”

_There’s a reason I asked for the corner, Adam._

**Behind you.**

Kai shook off the thought with a shrug.

Mira was beginning to wonder if he had asked for the corner earlier for a reason. Another three glances behind his shoulder and she decided to do something, “Hey, would it help if Adam switched with you and let you sit in the corner?”

_Fuck. I’m so annoying._

“I’m good, you don’t need too.”

**Behind you.**

“You sure?” Adam asked, “I don’t mind.”

**Behind you.**

It wouldn’t _shut up_. If Kai didn’t accept the switch in seats, he wouldn’t be able to stop looking behind him. He knew he wouldn’t. He was so annoying by needing to switch, but he would be even _more_ annoying if he didn’t.

Right?

He nodded once, jerking his down and back up sharply.

Adam got up and Kai shuffled back into the corner spot. Adam grabbed his box of pizza and handed it to Kai with a smile.

_Wow._

_His smile…_

_Okay, that time it’s totally not my psychological problems making my heart race. My jeans are cuffed, right?_

\---

“Hey, what’s up, Man!” Miles flashed him a grin.

“Hey!” Kai’s tense shoulders eased at the sight of his friend.

“Ready for me to kick your ass?” Miles took an exaggerated step towards him as he slung his arm up in the air.

It was a cue they worked up after the first time he had done it unexpectantly sent him spiralling into a panic attack.

And now Kai was in a headlock.

He rolled his eyes. He knew it was Miles’ way of greeting, and the warning and knowledge that he could get out of the headlock any time he wanted made the panic easy to breathe around.

“Actually, we’ve booked him for today,” Adam informed, “We’ve got to practice for the next tournament season.”

“Ugghhh no fair! We haven’t played in weeks!”

Kai jerked himself back slightly. Miles let go near instantly, “We’re playing speed rounds until a month away from our first game, it’ll last four hours. I should be able to play a round of Mario Kart or two after we’ve done the two rounds we got planned today, and we can totally meet up tomorrow so I can kick your ass in Legacy!”

“You? Kicking _my_ ass in Legacy?! Ha! Like hell you can!”

“Mhm, just like you can tootalllyyyyyy kick my ass in Mario Kart.”

“Miles,” Kai startled slightly at one of Mira’s dads -Mr. Baker- appearing out of nowhere, “They already have plans to game today.”

That totally wasn’t fair. After all, Kai hadn’t been playing with him since Mira and Adam needed him for their team. That was so _stupid_.

Miles almost wished he hadn’t told them Kai was an avid Hollows player when they were stressing about the deadline of needing a new team-member.

Almost.

The skype calls Kai spent gushing about the game and the way his friend lit up every time he thought about being on a team made it more than worth it.

But he was still salty that his friend wasn’t hanging out with him anymore.

“Can’t Kai stay the night so we can game later?” Miles groaned.

Kai’s nervous laughter followed the question. He tried to push down the worry bubbling up in his gut, “Sorry, man, can’t. You know how my parents are.”

Another reason why Miles only _almost_ regretted telling Mira that Kai played. Kai’s parents are never around, and he’s pretty sure they don’t tell him they love him enough. Kai always got extremely happy at even the slightest praise, winning the Hollows tournament put him in the spotlight in the way his main man deserved.

“They aren’t even in the country though, and it’s not like Davis would snitch on you, he’s cool.”

“Davis?” Mr. Baker asks.

Kai tensed up slightly at that. When he told Miles about the butler

_-“Just how rich are you, dude?!”-_

He sorta freaked out.

“A nanny,” Kai settled on.

Mr. Baker sent him a strange look, “Right.”

Mr. Everett stuck his head out from the kitchen, “I’m making you all a pre-gaming snack, alright? Also, any ideas what you want for dinner? How many of y’all are staying?”

“All of us,” Mira called back.

Well.

Kai was fucked.

“Er…”

Miles realised very abruptly that Kai _always_ brought his own snacks before, to avoid this very situation. Well, if Kai was too much of a doormat to bring it up, and instead would leave without food, he’d have to do something about it, “Come _on_ ,” Miles whined, “If you stay that late, then we can game after! I’m sure we can find something that won’t make your allergies flare up.”

“Allergies?” Mr. Everett asked.

Of course Miles had to do that to him. Kai sighed, the explanation he had worked on for ever coming into a situation like this tumbling from his lips, “You know pseudo-allergies? Where the brain convinces itself it’s allergic to something even if it’s biologically not? My brain decided ‘hey, let’s do that with most foods’.”

“Oh shit, kid.”

“Honey,” Mr. Everett frowned, “Language.”

Fuck.

_Fuck._

_Please don’t start fighting **please don’t start fighting.**_

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but that _sucks_. Anything you can eat?”

“Uh-” Kai was too busy trying to wrap his head around the de-escalating not-argument to even _begin_ to understand the question.

What did he say what did he say what did-

“He likes pizza,” Miles informed, saving his ass, “Hawaiian.”

“Well, we’re due for a pizza night anyway,” Mr. Everett nodded, accepting that, “Also, we ran out of eggs and I don’t feel like heading to the store today.”

“Then I guess that works out,” Mr. Baker smiled, turning back to Kai, “If that’s alright with you?”

It’s not really alright.

It’s being annoying.

“Uh. Sure. Let me text Davis that I’ll be home later.”

\---

Kai didn’t know if this was more triggering or annoying.

Both?

He didn’t know and didn’t care.

No, he did care, but it was making his head hurt to think about.

On the one hand, the spinning of the room kept him tripping over his own feet. That was _extremely_ annoying. On the other?

The spinning of the room reminded him of the kart.

They were going so fast.

**Mommy and Daddy are ruining the Easter Egg hunt.**

“You’re really allergic to most foods?”

The question jarred him back into reality. Virtual reality, that is.

Adam.

He’s in virtual reality, and that’s his friend and totally not crush Adam.

_Not now. Breathe, breathe, c’mon, Kai, you can breathe._

“Yeah, it sorta sucks.”

Speaking of Adam, he’s moving his feet to try and no spin. That would be useful, as Kai feels as though he’s about to spew. Whether it’s from the memory or the dizziness he isn’t sure.

He tried to copy his friend.

It wasn’t working so well.

Kai tripped over his own feet.

He tried to stop his fall by grabbing onto a desk as he fell.

The part he was holding broke off.

He hit the ground on his ass, blinking up at the desk. In his hand there’s the panel, with cool carvings stuck in, and in the place that was behind it is a bright green button.

“I think I found it!”

Within a moment, Mira has stumbled over and pressed the button.

The spinning finally stopped.

 _Finally_.

Kai flopped onto his back, letting out a shaky breath, “Well, at least I won’t throw up now,” He joked, ignoring the slight shaking to his hands.

A shadow appeared over him. He looked up.

Well.

That’s a particularly handsome shadow.

Adam held out a hand for him. He smiled reassuringly. Kai took the hand. He was hauled up as though he weighed nothing.

_He is so strong and I am so, so very bi._

Kai shook his head, trying to clear it of the dizziness and the thoughts. He really, _really_ shouldn’t develop a crush on his teammate.

Even if said teammate is really hot and strong and did he mention that he’s bi-

“It’ll be easier to look for clues too,” Adam informed. He held out his hand, “Mind if I-…?”

After a split second of bi ‘does he want to hold my hand’ panic, Kai handed him the panel.

Adam inspected it closely, then turned around to the desk. Kai watched as Adam crouched down. He ran his hands over the desk, looking for any other sort of panel, “The rest of the desk doesn’t have carvings. The panel might be important for later.”

“If you want to lug a wooden panel around, be my guest, but I’m not carrying it,” Mira informed.

Adam leaned under the table, “I think I found something.”

That was all the warning Kai got.

His stomach lurch as he dropped down abruptly. He was falling. He was falling and fast.

_Oh fuck oh fuck he’s going to die-_

Wait.

He had powers.

Flames flickered to life on his hands. His plummet stopped. He let out a breath of relief.

Mira was screaming.

Still falling.

He dived down after her.

Closer.

Closer.

He was almost there.

_Come on!_

Kai managed to fling himself under her and use his flame hands to blast downwards, stopping their decent. He thinks he may be able to make out the bottom of the pit, but he’s not sure, “Are we supposed to go down there?”

“I don’t know,” Mira heaved out with a shaking breath, “Where’s Adam? Adam!”

“Here!” The call rang out from the top of the pit, “The walls are closing in!”

Now was so _not_ the time for a freak-out.

“Keep it together, dude!” Kai called back.

“No, _literally_!”

Oh. 

“Get her to the bottom and come back for me!”

\---

The screen buzzed off from around his head. Kai noted that his muscles ached slightly from the stiffness of sitting still for four hours.

His chest also hurt.

He really needed to take a break from binding, but he’d need a minute to re-orient himself and verbal process the last four hours or else he’s going to die.

That may be an exaggeration.

 _May be_.

Kai shook himself out. He got to his feet, stretching to try and relieve some of the tenderness from the binder, “I did _not_ expect that.”

Adam grinned. Kai’s stomach did a flip.

Forget the not dying by staying here and verbal-processing thing.

“Told you so. Come on, it was obvious.”

“No, I’m with Kai here,” Mira shook her head, “That was unexpected, to say the least.”

“It had a bunch of carvings on it that the rest of the desk didn’t,” Adam laughed, “What else can I tell you? It was obviously important!”

“A slab of a desk from the first level being the key weapon to win the game wasn’t _obvious_ ,” Kai argued. They could have totally missed it.

Adam smirked.

Kai really was so very bi.

“Well, at least one of us was smart enough to bring it along, hm?”

_No, no, stop doing that with your face._

“Yeah, yeah, we get it. You have big brain energy.”

Adam paused for a moment, as though considering something. Then mischief became written across his expression, “And you have small brain energy.”

Kai gasped, clutching at chest dramatically, “Rude.”

Wait.

Hmm…

“Does that mean Mira has medium brain energy?”

“Yep.”

“I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Mira informed, “But I’ll take it as a compliment. I have a question though. Does small brain energy make Kai a himbo?”

“You have to be dumb and _polite_ to be a himbo.”

“Hey!” Kai defended, “I could totally be a himbo, thank you very much.”

The door creaked open.

Kai startled slightly.

“Hey dude!” Miles. It was just Miles. Oh _good_ , “Game over?”

Kai nodded. He wasn’t sure if he had the energy to play with Miles now, but he had made a promise.

“ _Finally_. That took _forever_ ,” Miles complained, “Come _on_ , you owe me a few rounds of Mario Kart.”

\---

Kai couldn’t breathe.

He really couldn’t.

**Mommy and Daddy are ruining the Easter Egg hunt.**

Putting it mildly;

He and Easter had a difficult relationship.

There were eggs _everywhere_.

Everything screamed _Easter_.

Bunnies.

Eggs.

More eggs.

Disgustingly bright eggs. 

“Kai, are you even paying attention?”

Did he mention eggs?

**Mommy and Daddy are ruining the Easter Egg hunt.**

Someone had asked him something.

Adam.

He heard him.

He thought he heard him.

Did he hear him?

Did he even say anything?

His parents said something.

They were yelling.

Yelling.

Yelling.

They were so loud.

The car was moving very fast.

They wouldn’t stop screaming.

His father was driving so fast.

He kept speeding up whenever his mother said anything.

They were in the k art to look for eggs.

The golf course was big.

They needed the kart.

“Kai?”

Why did they have to take the kart?

They passed a lot of eggs.

There’s so many eggs.

**Mommy and Daddy are ruining the Easter Egg Hunt.**

The eggs didn’t matter

The yelling did.

Daddy wasn’t paying attention.

The kart hit a rock.

“Dad! Something’s wrong with Kai!”

The world started spinning.

They weren’t driving anymore.

“What’s going on?”

The screams weren’t at each other.

Not anymore.

Flip.

Flip.

Flip.

Flip.

Flip.

“Kai, hey, buddy, can you hear me?”

He could hear screaming.

“Kai, do you know where you are?”

The kart stopped.

He could see blood.

And eggs.

Brightly coloured eggs.

“You’re safe, Kai. You’re at my home, in Mira’s room. There’s just you and me in the room. There are four people in the house. You, me, Mira and Adam-”

Adam?

He blinked.

Mr. Everett was in front of him.

“Kai?”

“Oh.”

He wasn’t at the Easter Egg hunt anymore.

“Kai, can you hear me?”

He could still hear the screaming.

He could also hear Mr. Everett.

Kai’s head bobbed up and down sharply.

“That’s good Kai. Do you know where you are?”

Not the Easter Egg hunt.

He’s-…

He glanced around.

Mira’s room?

Mira’s room.

He nodded.

“That’s good. You’re doing good. You’re having a panic attack, Kai, and those can be very scary, but you’re safe.”

No.

No that wasn’t right.

He wasn’t having a panic attack.

He was…

There was another word for it.

“Can you try breathing with me on a pattern?”

\---

The heels of Kai’s palms dug into his eyes as he rubbed them, trying to clear the last of the gloss from them. The dried tears felt gross and sticky on his face.

It didn’t really matter.

“S- sorry,” He finally managed to get out. The word was choked and rough. His throat hurt.

His ribs hurt.

“It’s alright, Kai, don’t worry,” Mr. Everett reassured, “Do you know what happened?”

“PTSD.”

Mr. Everett blinked.

“Oh. You have PTSD?”

Kai nodded slowly. He was really tried.

His ribs were hurting.

“Okay. Do you know what triggered you? Don’t need to share it, but I’m just wondering if we could avoid it in future.”

Kai closed his eyes. He needed a nap or something. When did he last sleep? It felt like forever ago, “Something bad happened on an Easter egg hunt when I was little.”

Why did his ribs hurt?

“Alright. Can I get you a drink? Something to eat?”

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

Mr. Everett paused. If Kai were any less exhausted he’d probably be worried that the pause was the one that happened before yelling, but he didn’t care if he yelled if he could go home and sleep soon, “Are you sure? You’ll be a little dehydrated from the crying.”

_Not to mention the six hours of gaming we did befor…_

He blinked a few times.

“Wait, weren’t we in a game?”

“Adam turned it off after realising you were unresponsive,” Mr. Everett informed.

His ribs were _really_ hurting.

Kai glanced around, “Where-?”

“I told them to go wait in the longue, as to not panic you further by having a lot of people in the room.”

His ribs hurt.

Oh.

_Oh._

That wasn’t good.

He was binding

and he was just hyperventilating

and he needed to get his binder off

but he was at Mira’s house

and he wasn’t out

but he needed to

what was he going to-

“Kai? Hey, don’t go getting lost in your head again, buddy,” Mr. Everett was frowning again.

“I- uh. I need the bathroom.”

\---

Each step made Kai’s heart beat faster. The apology was already on his lips. He just needed to get through this next few interactions and he’d be okay. He had already called Davis. He was going to be picked up. He could go home and sleep off the post-episode exhaustion.

He just needed to tell them he was going home.

The apology got stuck in his throat as his eyes caught sight of Mira and Adam. They were just sitting silently in the longue. They were doing nothing but sitting and staring at their drinks.

They weren’t talking.

They were just sitting there.

Mira was the first one to notice him, “Kai?”

Adam got to his feet abruptly and quickly, nearly tripping over them, “Kai! Hey, dude, you okay?”

Kai just about managed to not step back as Adam all but bolted in his direction, “Uh, yeah. Sorry about that.”

Adam stopped dead in his tracks, “Sorry?”

“Kai, you had a panic attack, you don’t need to be sorry for that,” Mira informed, getting up to.

“You apologize too much,” He informed.

“Sorrrrrr…yy…” Kai grinned nervously, realising he did it again.

So _stupid_.

“Dad had to go pick up Dad and Miles from the movie theatre, but he told us to tell you to call him if you needed anything.”

Kai paused, and processed the information Mira gave him. Her dads are out.

So is Miles.

He nodded, “Uh, Davis is coming to pick me up.”

“Alright. Uh, are you okay though?” Adam questioned, then tacked on, “Panic attacks don’t seem fun.”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Kai stressed.

He really wasn’t.


End file.
